Kukla's Korner Hockey

Okposo graciously greeted Sillinger on Monday as he pulled off his Islanders jersey for the first time after practice. Two years after he was chosen by New York with the No. 7 pick in the draft, Okposo is set to make his NHL debut Tuesday night when the host Islanders face the Toronto Maple Leafs.

“I’m 37,’’ the veteran of 17 NHL seasons said with a laugh. “I could be your dad. I’ve got a kid who’s 15.’‘

And with that, Sillinger - recovering from recent hip surgery that ended his season - walked away. In a season that has quickly unraveled for the Islanders, Okposo is providing something for the franchise to look forward to.

You just knew the Jackets’ good health wouldn’t last. Goaltender Pascal Leclaire will miss at least the next two games with a possible concussion, coach Ken Hitchcock said. He was struck in the mask with a puck during pre-game warm-ups on Sunday.

Freddy Norrena will make his second straight start against Calgary on Tuesday night in Nationwide in what promises to be a testy game. [...]

Jackets’ winger David Vyborny is out for 7-to-10 days with a knee sprain. There was fear Sunday night that Vyborny’s season and possibly his Blue Jackets career might have been over.

And from TSN: “The Blue Jackets called up goaltender Dan LaCosta from the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL on an emergency basis.”

Alex Kovalev could shatter some long-standing Canadiens records this season if he continues to put up points on the power play. With 16 goals and 26 assists with the man advantage, Kovalev is within four goals of Yvan Cournoyer’s record of 20 set in 1966-67. Kovalev is also eight points shy of Mats Naslund’s points record set in 1985-86 when he had 19 goals and 31 assists on the power play.

Break out the sun screen and beach chairs. The Florida Panthers are in hot pursuit of a playoff spot.

With a franchise-record seven-game win streak, the Panthers are biting at the heels of the eighth-place Philadelphia Flyers. And with two games coming up against the Washington Capitals and Carolina Hurricanes, they’re even flirting with what was unthinkable two weeks ago: a South-least Division title.

This June will mark the 10-year anniversary of the Detroit Red Wings winning their second straight Stanley Cup championship. During the ensuing decade, the Los Angeles Lakers, New York Yankees, Denver Broncos and New England Patriots repeated as champions in their respective sports.

Detroit remains the last NHL team to do so.

The Devils came close in 2001, the closest of any team since those Red Wings, but like many former Cup winners, their reign at the top of the hockey world came crashing down in defeat. That’s exactly what the Anaheim Ducks now are hoping to avoid.

Even if the Avs win the division and are the Western Conference’s No. 3 seed, they will open their first playoff series on the road.

The NCAA’s Frozen Four is at the Pepsi Center on April 10 and 12, and the logistical reality is that the NCAA would have claim on the building from April 9 — the opening day of the NHL playoffs — through April 12.

The NHL has assured Avalanche officials that the team will retain the home-ice advantage in the first round as the No. 3 seed, with four of the seven games played in Denver, if all are necessary. The league hasn’t said how that would work, but it likely would be under a 2-3-1-1 schedule, with the third through fifth and seventh games ticketed for the Pepsi Center.

Below is the list of the 29 candidates for this season’s Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, given to the NHL player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey.

The winner is selected in a poll of all chapters of the Professional Hockey Writers Association at the end of the regular season.